Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Shares Sold by Blue Square Asset Management LLC

Blue Square Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 910 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 34 shares during the quarter. Blue Square Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Central Valley Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the third quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,271,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the third quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the third quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,038,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.1 %

Meta Platforms stock opened at $572.05 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $557.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $514.31. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $313.66 and a 52 week high of $602.95. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.22.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The social networking company reported $6.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $0.84. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 35.55% and a return on equity of 35.60%. The business had revenue of $40.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.21 billion. On average, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 22.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 9.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on META. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $555.00 to $636.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $575.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $560.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.10.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.51, for a total transaction of $8,827,174.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 72,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,302,705.23. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 905 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.97, for a total value of $533,922.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,641,281.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 16,702 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.51, for a total transaction of $8,827,174.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 72,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,302,705.23. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 243,919 shares of company stock valued at $129,296,067. Corporate insiders own 13.71% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.